How much juice does the pull-down draw? I'm wondering, because I let my car sit for 5 days, and in 5 days, I opened and closed the trunk 7 times, meaning the pull-down motor was in operation 14 times. When I went to start the vehicle on the 5th day, the interior lights were very dim and I had to jump it to get it running. Could using the trunk this much have drawn my battery down? I doubt if the battery was at full charge anyways from doing errands around town to begin with. I posted this in the electrical forums as well, but nothing ever seems to happen there; I always get great help from everyone in here! Thanks!

Brian

pimpin88

04-18-05, 02:08 PM

that shouldnt be enough to kill the battery. i've had my car sit for a week or two and opened the trunk many times along with having the radio playing. it was sitting for a while because i was replacing the gas tank and fuel pump. but when i went to start it, there was plenty of power. although the battery isnt all that old.

there has to be a short or something somewhere, any possibility that a light was left on

90Brougham350

04-19-05, 12:19 AM

Think I figured it out today. I've always suspected the lincoln amp I put in the trunk some months ago might still be drawing down, and so I unplugged the amp wiring harness with the battery still connected, and the amp made a small but barely noticeable clicking noise. Now to wait a few days and see if the battery is low again. Just out of curiosity, is there a device you can put on the battery terminals to see if there is a drain? I've never worked with multimeters and voltometers or anything.

Brian

DaveSmed

04-19-05, 09:21 PM

If you have a multimeter that can read milliamps, disconnect the cable from the battery, and connect the multimeter in series. (so all the power flows through the meter) Do NOT try to start the car, or even really turn the ignition on. If the current draw goes above 10 amps (generally) It blows a small expensive fuse inside the voltmeter.

90Brougham350

04-19-05, 11:17 PM

I gotcha, so I just unbolt the negative battery cable, and put the multimeter touching both the battery terminal and the ground cable? How much does a multimeter cost? If the fuse pops, you can just pop a new one in? Thanks

Dave, any progress on the repairs after that Pontiac pulled out infront of you?

Brian

BluEyes

04-20-05, 02:28 AM

Multimeters are cheap $20 or so, maybe $10 at Wal-Mart. They're essential if you want to do any kind of electrical work on your own.

Just make sure it has an amps setting. (most do though)

davesdeville

04-20-05, 04:06 AM

A test light should work too shouldn't it?

The Ape Man

04-20-05, 09:39 AM

A test light is useful for this test only if you know it's current draw.
When you first hook the meter in series with the neg. connection that you removed, short across the meter connections with a piece of wire for 1 second. This will charge any capacitors on the load side and sometimes eliminates a false reading.
Usually, any reading indicating a parastic draw above .25-.4 Amperes (250 milliamps-400 milliamps) means there is a problem. If you find something like .15 then don't worry.
Sounds like your amp was not wired properly if you could hear a relay click when it was supposed to be off. The control wiring might be hooked to Bat. Voltage instead of accessory Voltage.

90Brougham350

04-20-05, 10:51 AM

I've always been suspicious about the amp from the day I put it in. It works great, but the fact I pulled it from an 89 Towncar means it was a factory amp and might not be wired from the factory the way an aftermarket amp would be. Of course, I don't know how the factory had it wired, so I just wired it up like it was an aftermarket. I'm assuming a draw of something like .15 amps would just be the radio presets? Thanks for all the help so far guys.

Brian

The Ape Man

04-21-05, 06:51 PM

.15 amps will be from dampness across the 1/2 mile of wires and copper in your car.